


Live for Love

by silvermoongirl10



Category: The Crimson Field
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-WWI, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 13:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1606415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvermoongirl10/pseuds/silvermoongirl10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war has ended and Tom has finally married Kitty. But it is not all happiness for the new married couple, in late 1918 and early 1919 a deadly Influenza swept across the world. Is Tom about to lose the woman he loves so soon after marrying her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Live for Love

**Author's Note:**

> I was in a history lecture and we were looking at Disease and Famine and we looked at the 1918 Influenza epidemic (but I'm not a 100% sure on the symptoms). With my obsession with The Crimson Field I wondered what would happen if a couple of the characters were affected? This is my first Crimson Field fic so apologies if anyone seems out of character.

It was mid-January 1919, the war had been over for almost three months and they had been the best months in Tom's life. The war ended on 11th November 1918 when Germany signed the Armistice, that had brought much happiness, but in the first week of December not long after his return to Britain he had married Kitty Trevelyan which was the best day in his life. They had settled in London when Tom had been given a position at The London Hospital, Kitty had initially been wary of meeting anyone from her life before the war and so Tom had been careful to avoid taking Kitty to the places where she was likely to see people she knew. Mainly her ex-husband a man Tom would dearly love to place in a hospital, from injuries caused by being punched numerous times. But Tom had been happy to see Kitty's blissful face when she looked upon the terrace house that was to be theirs for the first time. They had a cook and a maid and that's all the help they felt they needed, knowing that they did not want many people bustling around their modest home. Tom had been worried that their home would not compare to the houses Kitty was used to, but Kitty had told him their house felt more of a home to her than the house where she had grown up.

But now was not a happy time, Tom had been working hard at the hospital, despite being a surgeon he had been required to help on the wards with Influenza patients. After the initial wave of the Influenza in mid to end of 1918 they had all thought that it was the end of the disease, but they were soon proved wrong when a second, and deadlier, wave of the Influenza struck countries across the world. While some of his colleagues became sick from the disease Tom and his superior figured out that the flu Tom had in March 1918 was most likely a less deadly strain of the disease, thus making him immune to any other strain of the disease. While he had been fortunate to have the Influenza early on when it was less likely to kill, Kitty had not been so fortunate. With the number of Influenza patients dropping daily Tom had taken a leave of absence from the hospital so he could remain at his wife's beside and nurse her back to health himself.

He was sat in an armchair he had placed at Kitty's bedside; he refused to lie in their bed not wanting to sleep so deeply he might not know if Kitty needed him. So for five straight nights he had dozed in the armchair, never dozing for very long. The maid brought broth that the cook had made and Tom gently spooned the broth into Kitty's mouth and brushing the strands of hair out of her face. He soothed Kitty through the coughing spells and gently squeezed her hand comforting her through the pain. He tried to push to the back of his mind the number of patients he had seen slowly fade away and pass away and he refused to believe that his stubborn and fearless Kitty would perish to the Influenza.

Tom was leaning back in the armchair with his head rested on one of his hands as he watched his wife sleep. The afternoon sun streamed through the gaps in the bedroom's curtains, framing Kitty's face beautifully in the sunlight. Tom still had on the clothes that he had worn the day he realized Kitty was sick, he had rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows and had on no jacket or tie, his hair was dishevelled and he had dark circles under his eyes. No matter how tried he was he still sat up straighter when he saw Kitty blink her eyes open.

"Tom?" called out Kitty in a weak and hoarse voice,

He leaned over with his elbows resting on his knees as he held Kitty's closest hand in one of his own when with his free hand he ran his fingers through her dark hair. "I'm here" he soothed.

Kitty looked up at him and gave him a small smile and Tom couldn't help but return it, "You need to sleep Tom" whispered Kitty.

Tom shook his head, "I'm fine"

Despite her illness Kitty raised an eyebrow at her husband's response; Tom couldn't help but chuckle at the look on his wife's face. "You need sleep"

"But I need to see you well more" countered Tom, "I'm getting sleep in the chair"

"You are dozing not sleeping" retorted Kitty,

"Don't worry yourself, I'll be fine. I can't get sick from this, I've already had it" reassured Tom as he rubbed soothing circles on Kitty's hand.

No matter how much she wanted to argue, Tom could see Kitty's strength was fading fast and he leaned over further to place a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep. You need to rest, you stubborn woman"

Kitty smiled, "But you wouldn't have me any other way"

Tom chuckled, "You're right about that. Now sleep", he hummed a tune he recalled from a lullaby his mother used to sing to him. Kitty squeezed his hand and drifted off to sleep missing Tom's stricken look. He had to blink back tears at the feel of Kitty's weak grip on his hand, and prayed not for the first time for Kitty's recovery. It had almost been four years since he met Kitty and he could not see himself without her, she was everything to him. He turned to the bedside table where a bowl of water and a compress sat. He drained the water from the compress and then placed it on Kitty's forehead; he rubbed a thumb over the top of Kitty's forehead before he placed a kiss there and then sat back in the armchair to continue his vigil.

* * *

It was during the early hours of that night when Tom noticed a change in Kitty's breathing, it sounded raspier. So Tom stiffly rose from the armchair and moved to his side of the bed and stretched out and propped Kitty up against his shoulder. He was relieved to hear the rasping fade from her breathing a little. Silent tears trickled down his cheeks as he held Kitty a little tighter to him.

"Please let her live" he whispered into the still night air, "Please don't take her from me".

Tom stayed like that through the remainder of the night, but unknowingly drifted off to sleep when the dawn light streamed through the curtains. He startled himself awake and berated himself for falling asleep. He swiftly returned to the armchair when he noticed a difference in Kitty's breathing again.

He gently placed a hand on Kitty's forehead and the knot in his stomach loosened when he felt her forehead he felt that her fever had gone down. He bowed his head and sniffled into his hands knowing that Kitty had overcome the worst of the Influenza and now knew his wife would recover. He startled when he felt a hand rest on the top of his head, he raised his head to see Kitty looking back at him. Tom grasped her hand with both of his and kissed her hand, with her free hand Kitty reached up and brushed away Tom's tears. Tom then reached down and pulled Kitty up into his arms and hugged her tightly to him, gently rocking her as tears of relief and happiness streamed down his cheeks.

"Oh Kitty thank God!" mumbled Tom into Kitty's shoulder.

"Shhh, it's alright" soothed Kitty, her own head rested in the crook of Tom's shoulder.

"I should be comforting you" muttered Tom,

While Tom could not see Kitty's face he knew she was smiling, "We comfort each other, I thought you had already learned that Thomas Gillan"

Tom chuckled and pulled back so he could look Kitty in the eye and murmured, "I must have forgotten" before he kissed her gently, but just as desperately as the first time he kissed her in the woods all those years ago.

* * *

It had been a month since Kitty's fever had broken and she had yet to go outside, Tom had moved the armchair to the window of their bedroom so Kitty could look out at the park across the street. Tom had been back working at the hospital for a week and today was his day off and Kitty had persuaded him to take her to the park for a little while. He had wrapped her up tightly to keep her warm against the January chill, Kitty had wrapped an arm around one of Tom's arms and together they had stepped outside.

Kitty had taken a deep breath and smiled at feeling the cool air in her lungs and the sun on her face. Tom had smiled seeing his wife and had slowly guided her into the park and over to the nearest bench. There Kitty had rested her head on her husband's shoulder and Tom had wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"This is lovely, thank you Tom. I know you were concerned about me coming here" said Kitty as she angled her head so she could look up at Tom.

Tom smiled and replied, "You can't stay out too long I don't want you getting sick again"

Kitty chuckled and squeezed Tom's hand, "Ever the Doctor"

Tom snorted and kissed the top of Kitty's head, his thoughts became consumed with the memories of Kitty lying in bed on the doorstep of death and shuddered thinking of how it would have felt to watch his wife waste away before his eyes. Kitty sat up and kissed Tom's cheek knowing what thoughts were consuming her husband's mind.

Tom gave Kitty a small smile, but his eyes told her how upset he was. "I thought I was going to lose you" he choked out; he turned his head so he was staring straight ahead and rubbed his eyes, feeling the backs of them sting with tears.

Kitty reached up with a gloved hand and cupped his cheek and turned Tom's head so he was looking at her. "You were never going to lose me. I knew you were there and it was your love that helped me get better"

Tom squeezed Kitty's hand, "Whatever it was that made you better I don't care. Just as long as you're still me with, that's all I care about" he kissed her again and they sat back on the bench contented to watch the people coming and going. After ten minutes Tom decided that they should return to the house, they arrived home to find their cook had made them some tea.

So they took their tea in the front room by the crackling fire sat in their chairs in contented silence. Not for the first time Tom wondered how he had been so lucky to find the woman he loved in a field hospital in war torn France, but he thanked whatever it was that sent her to him then and saved her from a deadly illness this time.

**The End.**


End file.
